Mediteranian Orzo Salad

I found this recipe in Cooking Light many years ago and loved it at first bite! This was the other dish I made for Mediterranean night with my girlfriends this week. It makes alot, so there are always leftovers for lunch the next day.

Evidently people cooked alot of spinach for St. Patties day, because the store was sold out! I had to get creative and replaced the spinach the recipe calls for with my favorite green.....ARUGULA! Not a bad replacement really.

Marinated artichoke hearts can be a bit pricey, but I found Trader Joes sells them for under 3 dollars. I don't like the flavoring as well as those I bought at the grociery store, but for the price, they are a good buy and work well enough.

I took the leftovers into work yesterday and the salad received great reviews. A friend took a small container of the salad with her to eat on the plane rather than airplane food. Yay!

If you have never heard of Orzo, it is a small pasta. Most grocery stores have it, so hopefully it will not be hard to find. I think I use a 1 : 1 1/2 ratio of orzo to water when cooking. I always add a bit of bullion for flavoring.

Mediterranean Orzo Salad

1 cup uncooked orzo
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and chopped (or more if you really like spinach)
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
3 TBS chopped red onion (I only use 1 TBS at the most)
10 - 15 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 (6oz) jar marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled (I just use however much I want to, which is probably more)

1. Cook orzo in boiling water/ broth until tender, about 8 - 10 minutes. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan. Drain and rinse under cold water.

2. Combine orzo, spinach and nest 5 ingredients through salt in a large bowl.

3. Drain artichoke hearts, reserving the marinade. Coarsely chop artichoke hearts, and add to the orzo mixture. Pour reserved marinade over the orzo and gently stir.

4. Add feta cheese to orzo tossing gently to combine.

This dish is good with falaful and pita bread to make it a full meal.